Centre Alliance Senators Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff announced in June that they will introduce legislation into the Senate to propose an amendment to the Australian Constitution to protect freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
The Senators said that a constitutional amendment, similar to the one in the US, would put a brake on any future government efforts to suppress the freedom of the press or freedom of expression for all Australians.
ABC Friends National President, Margaret Reynolds, said that, "it is good to see that some parliamentarians are engaged in the debate to defend media freedom."
Senator Rex Patrick said that the Australian Federal Police Raids on the ABC served as a warning, and that media freedom "cannot be taken for granted."
The two Senators have likened their amendment proposals to the First Amendment of the United States of America Constitution which provides that the Congress "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Senator Stirling Griff noted that the architects of the Australian Constitution sought inspiration from US Constitution, and said that "it is very clear now that we need our own ‘First Amendment’."
Senator Griff noted that while the High Court has ruled in various decisions that an implied freedom of communication exists under the Constitution in relation to political and government matters, the extent of that freedom was highly uncertain and easily limited.
Section 116 of the Australian Constitution protects freedom of religion by providing that the Commonwealth Parliament “shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.” However, there are no explicit freedom of media or speech provisions.
“Press freedom is a fragile thing and once lost is unlikely to be regained, especially when it is curtailed in the name of national security”, Senator Griff said.
“Australian democracy needs a constitutional backstop to protect our free press and the right of all Australians to speak freely.”
Section 116 of the Australian Constitution protects freedom of religion by providing that the Commonwealth Parliament “shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.”
A Bill proposing the amendment is a preliminary requirement for a Constitutional referendum to occur.